Bet Kadokawa is regretting that Endless Eight debacle more now. Their latest comment was apparently “Well… All that can be said is that it would be nice if they sell, wouldn’t it?”. Shouldn't get their hopes up for breaking records with 4 discs of 2 of the same episodes. The true test of the otaku fan factor is coming up soon .

The BD numbers are interesting. Anime is carrying the flag. And since each unit is higher priced, could help turn revenue around, or at least slow losses, in the second half.

The Haruhi Endless Eight arc, with 8 eps of essentially the same episode over and over, caused quite a backlash amongst hardcore fans wanting to see more of the manga animated in season two. Kadokawa says they are going ahead with standard Japanese DVD volumes, meaning 2 eps per disc. So Japanese fans have to buy 4 separate discs if they want the complete series. To be seen if they will buy all, or will only buy some of them (Vol. 1 and 4 of the arc, for instance), or if any significant number truly abandoned the franchise entirely (having already mutilated their Haruhi figures )

The Haruhi Endless Eight arc, with 8 eps of essentially the same episode over and over, caused quite a backlash amongst hardcore fans wanting to see more of the manga animated in season two. Kadokawa says they are going ahead with standard Japanese DVD volumes, meaning 2 eps per disc. So Japanese fans have to buy 4 separate discs if they want the complete series. To be seen if they will buy all, or will only buy some of them (Vol. 1 and 4 of the arc, for instance), or if any significant number truly abandoned the franchise entirely (having already mutilated their Haruhi figures )

Ah, I see. I can certainly see why some may be at the breaking point! Is KyoAni exempt from blame or has this been mostly Kadokawa's shenanigans? I don't think it would be all that hard to animate a legitimate, standard second season....

The Haruhi Endless Eight arc, with 8 eps of essentially the same episode over and over, caused quite a backlash amongst hardcore fans wanting to see more of the manga animated in season two. Kadokawa says they are going ahead with standard Japanese DVD volumes, meaning 2 eps per disc. So Japanese fans have to buy 4 separate discs if they want the complete series. To be seen if they will buy all, or will only buy some of them (Vol. 1 and 4 of the arc, for instance), or if any significant number truly abandoned the franchise entirely (having already mutilated their Haruhi figures )

Yes, truly that's the only thing that matters here. Not the declining sales all the way around and how much trouble the anime industry is in, it's a thing that isn't even out yet.

It doesn’t really surprise me their going with a standard release, Japans not very big on change, even when what their doing is clearly failing. I really hope this comes back to bite them on the ass, then maybe the industry as a whole will realize they’ve got to make some serious changes to how they are marketing and distributing their products, because short of completely going broke, I can see any other way for them to finally get of their collective ass and do something about the tanking anime industry.

Yes, truly that's the only thing that matters here. Not the declining sales all the way around and how much trouble the anime industry is in, it's a thing that isn't even out yet.

Ehhh, just a joke. Noticed Kadokawa's comment yesterday, first time they've admitted any negativity associated with Endless, and I've been following the Haruhi Endless drama with amusement. Though I was disappointed as well. I'm aware of the bigger issue.

I'm still most interested in the BD sales figures. It's a bright spot, say, if re-releases in BD would sell well. Who knows when number of units is going to bottom out and stabilize, but maybe the BDs will make up for fewer sales with higher revenue, and hopefully profit.

Plus this problem has been discussed to death. And I don't have an answer, nor have I heard one. I buy a lot of DVDs, or did until recently when there's less R1 to buy and less that interests me. Maybe that's the case generally in the market. Or that the bubble hasn't finished deflating. Or that the younger digital generations are comfortable with lower-quality streaming as an alternative, so aren't buying DVDs. Or fansubs won the war. Or, or...

I don't know myself. But more importantly, I hope the people who should know are getting a handle on it.

JairStout wrote:

Ah, I see. I can certainly see why some may be at the breaking point! Is KyoAni exempt from blame or has this been mostly Kadokawa's shenanigans? I don't think it would be all that hard to animate a legitimate, standard second season....

We'll never know who mentioned it first in a meeting, but Kadokawa would have the final decision. It's one of those ideas that could sound really brilliant in the bar after a few drinks, but should have died along with the brain cells.

I wonder if someone from Japan can answer the question of if they import anime from America, 'cause it's WAY cheaper over here than over there, all they'd need is a region free player and to be able to read the English menu and set it in Japanese and turn off the subs, even though they DO get stuff sooner than we do.

I wonder if someone from Japan can answer the question of if they import anime from America, 'cause it's WAY cheaper over here than over there, all they'd need is a region free player and to be able to read the English menu and set it in Japanese and turn off the subs, even though they DO get stuff sooner than we do.

"Fear of reverse importation" is the oft-cited reason for the delays between domestic and licensed overseas releases. The huge leap in BD sales puts yet another a spanner in that: R2J DVDs have fewer episodes per disc, and a comparatively higher cost, but alos have a much higher bitrate per episode. Comparing a 6-episode R1 disc to a 2-episode R2J disc, the R2J will have much higher picture quality (ignoring any IVTC-fail and the like that plague R1 discs). Think normal single-layer DVD vs. the rarely seen double-layer Superbit DVDs.
That only goes for those who desire to buy the best quality. For those who don't care, they'll just download it from share/winny/PD like usual.

The Haruhi Endless Eight arc, with 8 eps of essentially the same episode over and over, caused quite a backlash amongst hardcore fans wanting to see more of the manga animated in season two. Kadokawa says they are going ahead with standard Japanese DVD volumes, meaning 2 eps per disc. So Japanese fans have to buy 4 separate discs if they want the complete series. To be seen if they will buy all, or will only buy some of them (Vol. 1 and 4 of the arc, for instance), or if any significant number truly abandoned the franchise entirely (having already mutilated their Haruhi figures )

Ah, I see. I can certainly see why some may be at the breaking point! Is KyoAni exempt from blame or has this been mostly Kadokawa's shenanigans? I don't think it would be all that hard to animate a legitimate, standard second season....

Most likely Kyoto Animation's idea. Basically they where trying to be cute, and make fans go 'Endless Eight lasted eight episodes? GENIUS!"

That only goes for those who desire to buy the best quality. For those who don't care, they'll just download it from share/winny/PD like usual.

This means that Japanese viewers unwilling to pay for their domestic releases are far more likely to download than they are to wait for the chance to reverse-import, does it not?
I'd like to assume the companies involved are aware of this trend and might start to reconsider their foreign business strategies, but my pessimism gets the better of me.

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